The fun and adventures of a golf trip

By Paul Gueorgieff

Went on a golf trip to Sydney last month.

There was 17 of us — six women and 11 men — from our golf club with the main purpose to play in a tournament on Anzac Day at one of our Sydney reciprocal clubs.

Caption: The Manor Park Golf Club group outside the main entrance to the Muirfield Golf Club in western Sydney.

Firstly, it was great to have a mix of women and men, and, secondly, it was great to have a good number of players from the one golf club.

The reciprocal club is Muirfield Golf Club in western Sydney. On Anzac Day they play for the Manor Park Cup and at my club of Manor Park we play for the Muirfield Trophy on the same day.

We played twice at Muirfield and, even though I had played their 10 years or so ago, I had forgotten how good a golf course it is.

It is only a par 69 but most of the holes are quite tough and it is a genuine test of golf. Many of the holes have undulating fairways, many of the greens have surrounding bunkers but the course is far from impossible. One of our players, Bill, got a hole in one on our first day at Muirfield.

Muirfield has about 1000 members and plans are confirmed to build a new clubhouse within the next couple of years.

Another club we played was The Coast which has stunning views of the Sydney coast. We all played at The Coast while six of us played it a second time, while the others were taking a rest from golf.

Every hole at The Coast has brilliant views of the Tasman Sea. It is the most spectacular golf course I have played.

While we were playing the first nine holes at The Coast, you could see more holes further away and we all thought it must be another course as we were aware there are four golf courses in a row in the region -- they being Randwick, The Coast, Saint Michael's and New South Wales.

As we moved to the second nine holes, we all realised that it was all part of The Coast course and the views just became even greater.

Once again a top course and I'm happy that I was one of the six that played it twice.

The third course we played was Eastlakes, which was chosen mainly because it is near the airport and we played there on the day we were catching the 6.30pm flight home.

Another very good golf course but I have never come across a course with such long distances between greens and tees.

Caption: Hole No 14 at Muirfield which has a picturesque setting.

At least a couple of the holes had about 1000 metres between greens and tees and we were thankful we all had carts. On one hole we had to cross a bridge which went over four-lane road.

For six of us it was five rounds of golf in five days and for the other 12 it was four rounds in five days.

But golf was just secondary. It was all about camaraderie which abounded in buckets full with drinks and dinners after golf.

Our accommodation was at Bondi Beach and one night we dined at the Promenade on Bondi Beach which was a highlight of the trip.

A trip away is not complete without good accommodation. The 17 of us stayed in two adjoining villas a couple of streets back from Bondi Beach and it was perfect for a big group, with most rooms having their own en suites.

Caption: One of the glorious views at The Coast Golf Club on the Sydney coast. Photo credit: The Coast Golf Club.

We also had a coach and driver for all but one of the days. That made it easy for travel and carriage of golf clubs.

A thanks to Curtis who made all the arrangements for the trip.